Other fans could not see the funny side and compared the act to bullying with one tweeter posting: “Louis having a go at a Naughty Boy piñata - thought they were against bullying?”

One user described the act as racist, writing: “the two of you & how childish that was. Did you know that piñata that carried Naughty Boy's face was a sign of racism? You deliberately encouraged racism without even noticing it.”

After Naughty Boy tweeted a Souncloud link to a recording with Malik, Tomlinson posted: “Wow @NaughtyBoyMusic you're so inconsiderate pal , seriously how f****g old are you ? Grow up ! #masterofallwisdom.

“I was talking about the video you tweeted . Clearly trying to wind the fans up ! Well you succeeded anyway. Fair play.”

The singer - who is set to become a father - later hit out at the producer's choice of photography, writing: “Remember when you were 12 and you used to think those Mac filters for your pictures were cool haha! Some people still do HA!”